What is Autism and What Are Some of the Behaviour Characteristics of Autism?

According to Wikipedia, it is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication and causes restricted and repetitive behaviour, all starting before a child is three years old.

Another definition states that it is a neurodevelopmental disability, which in normal language is a condition that affects the normal growth of the brain so that the individual has difficulty with day-to-day living.

Autism is one of the five pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), which are characterized by widespread abnormalities of social interactions and communication, and severely restricted interests and highly repetitive behaviour.

Asperger syndrome is another and is a milder form of autism. The main difference in autism and Asperger's is that Asperger's has no substantial delay in language development.

Autism is defined by a certain set of behaviours, which may or may not be evident in infancy (15 to 24 months). Usually these behaviours will be more obvious during early childhood (24 months to 6 years).

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) lists some behaviours that might indicate further evaluation is recommended.

These are:

Your child does not babble or coo by 12 months

Does not gesture (point, wave, grasp) by 12 months

Does not say single words by 16 months

Does not say two-word phrases on his or her own by 24 months

Does not want to cuddle or be cuddled

Below you will find some of the Characteristic Behaviours that are more obvious in children 24 months and older.

These senses are known assensory integration dysfunction. In sensory integration dysfunction also known as thesensory processing disorder (SPD), the senses are not correctly interpreted by the nervous system. In this situation, the world is perceived differently for this child than it actually exists for neurotypical individuals.

Because the nervous system tells the body how to react to this incorrect information, the behaviours are inappropriate for the given situation.

Some examples of these might be:

Vision:

(Hypersensitivity)

lack of eye contact

distracted by clutter

agitated with patterns or too many colours

(Hyposensitivity)

needs a visually stimulating environment (objects that spin and move)

tends to look directly into the lights

Hearing (auditory):

(Hypersensitivity)

Easily bothered by noises that may even cause an experience of intense pain

(Hyposensitivity)

May not respond to sounds, including hearing their name when called

May make lots of noises (humming, tapping, etc.)

Might be insistent on the TV or radio being very loud

Taste:

(Hypersensitivity)

Gags easily

Prefers not to mix foods

Has difficulty with certain textures

(Hyposensitivity)

Tends to constantly have something in the mouth (fingers, objects, or food)

Smell:

(Hypersensitivity)

May cause nausea, vomiting, and headaches

May cause agitation

(Hyposensitivity)

Desires strong aromas

May sniff people and other objects inappropriately

Touch (tactile):

(Hypersensitivity)

Needs large personal space

May be sensitive to some fabrics, seams and even tags

May have a dislike of touching certain textures

Dislikes being touched

If bumped or pushed, could become unusually angry

(Hyposensitivity)

Prefers small spaces

May not notice if they are hurt or injured

Proprioception :

Seems clumsy and uncoordinated

Vestibular :

(Hypersensitivity)

Due to gravitational insecurity, will have difficulty on stairs or escalators

May develop motion sickness easily

(Hyposensitivity)

Will seek movement and be in constant motion (rocking, spinning or swinging)

Repetitive stereotypic behaviour known asstimming (may involve any or all of the senses to various degrees in different individuals)

Shows interest in very few objects or activities and plays with them in repetitive ways

Performs repetitive routines and resists changes in these routines

Spends time in repetitive movements such as waving a hand in front of his/her face, rocking, spinning or pacing

Self-mutilation/injurious behaviour such as head-banging, self-biting, and self-hitting

Laughing and/or crying for no apparent reason

Showing distress for reasons not apparent to others

Apparent insensitivity to pain

Inappropriate response or no response to sound

Non-responsive to verbal cues - acts as if deaf

The child's development and abilities will seem very uneven - very poor skills in some areas, and exceptional abilities in others, such as music, memory, arithmetic, calendar arithmetic, drawing or manual dexterity - in the manipulation of puzzles and mechanical objects. Those displaying such skills are sometimes referred to as Savants.

There are two other characteristics found in children with autism. These children will tend to have issues with sleep and with stomach problems that can cause chronic constipation or diarrhoea.

Now, having any of these characteristic behaviours does not mean your child has autism. It is, however, recommended that a child displaying any of these behaviours should be seen by a professional who is knowledgeable about autism.

Should your child be diagnosed with autism, there are many resources out there dealing with autism. There is one that stands heads above the others, in my opinion, called 'Teaching Children with Autism'. This ebook and software gives parents and teachers proven teaching skills for working with Autistic children. You will find tips for both parents and teachers, real life experiences, case study examples, coping strategies, unique teaching methods and much more.

For more information on Autism, visit my website. You will find pretty much everything you will want and need to know about autism and how to deal with it.

About the author: For the past decade, research has been a big part of my life, Five of those years, research has been my livelihood. Instead of keeping the results of this research to myself, I have decided to start sharing it on the internet with those who are searching for the same. I am a big proponent of natural remedies, which is where the bulk of my research is done. It is my mission to educate anyone who might want to be educated in certain areas...most